“I said, I’m not cold.” She pushed the blanket off her. “You never listen to me.”
“Okay.” He stepped back, holding up his hands as if in surrender. “Are you thirsty? Hungry? I can go and see if the cafeteria is open.”
“No. I’m fine, but we need to talk.” If it hadn't been so sad, she would’ve laughed at the almost frightened expression on his face. She didn't think she'd ever seen him afraid of anything.
“Ethan, Tobias and I finished the baby’s bedroom. Merri was there too so you don’t have to worry that it looks like a bunch of guys did it.” He smiled, but there was a hint of panic in his eyes. “She told us exactly what we did wrong and wouldn’t let any of us leave until everything was set up to her satisfaction. That’s why I was so late getting back here last night. Everything is done. The crib, the playpen, the swing…You name it we have it ready for Irene.” He smiled at the baby who was starting to wiggle. “I bought another crib. Merri called it a cradle. She suggested that we put it in the master bedroom for when we first bring Irene home. She said that it’d help us get some sleep.” He continued to ramble on about everything he'd done for the baby, and it tore Alison's heart in two.
“Stop. Please. We talked about this.” Her throat tightened at the crushed look on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She swallowed. “I shouldn’t have had Dan deliver the papers to you now. I…I should’ve called him and told him to wait.”
“Wait? You should’ve told him not to deliver them at all,” he snapped.
Her jaw clenched. This was the man that drove her mad. He refused to see any point of view but his own. “Have you signed the papers?”
The muscle in his cheek twitched before he took a deep breath. “You're going to need help with Irene. There's no way you can be on your own at first. Stay with me for a little bit longer. This doesn't mean forever. You can think about that later.”
“There's nothing to think about. The contract is over.”
“I don't give a shit about the contract.”
“Well, I do, and it's over. Now, we get divorced and we share custody. Everything is written in black and white just like you’ve told me over and over again.”
“Is that really what you want?” His face had tightened, showing no emotion. He was robot Harker once again.
This was the man she’d met the first day she’d worked for him. The only man she’d seen until they’d shared that pizza. How one little lunch, one little decision could change her life so much was beyond her. If she’d known how much pain she’d go through because she took the man lunch, she’d never—she glanced at Irene—she’d do it all over again. She should lie and say yes, she wanted a divorce, but that one small word wouldn’t move out of her throat and past her lips. It wasn't what she wanted, but that didn’t matter. “It's what it has to be.”
“But it doesn't.” His face brightened. “We can make this work. You know—”
“Harker, I gave you the chance to make this work.”
“You wanted to leave.” The hope in his eyes turned to anger.
“I wanted to think. To decide what I wanted to do. To decide if this was real.”
“And I gave you space to do that.”
“You refused to listen to me.”
“I did not. I listened. I just didn’t agree.” His jaw was so tight it looked like it might shatter.
“You forced me to stay where you knew I didn’t want to be. Where I couldn’t think.” She’d been miserable, seeing him in pain and knowing she was the cause.
“I never stopped you from leaving. You could’ve gone at any time.”
“And lose my baby?” She almost yelled.
“You know I never would’ve taken Irene.”
“It was in the contract, and you refused to change it.”
“I offered to change it on several occasions.”
“Only if I agreed to stay with you.”
“Which you did anyway.” He studied her. “Why didn’t you have me change the contract if you were really worried that I’d try and take the baby?” He stepped closer to her. “You knew I’d never do that, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t have you change the contract because I wasn’t giving you an opportunity to sneak in some other addendums that’d steal something else from me.”
“I don’t believe you. Your lawyer would’ve protected your interests if I’d done anything like that.”
